Category Archives: Fabric Art

Art primarily using fabric as its basis.

Wall

Nicki Hitz Edson, Medusa Mask, 1975. Crocheted wool. Promised gift of The Julie Schafler Dale Collection.

Off the Wall: American Art to Wear

November 10, 2019 – May 17, 2020

This fall, the Philadelphia Museum of Art presents Off the Wall: American Art to Wear, a major exhibition that highlights a distinctive American art movement that emerged in the late 1960s and flourished during the following decades. It examines a generation of pioneering artists who used body-related forms to express a personal vision and frames their work in relation to the cultural, historical and social concerns of their time. Focusing on iconic works made during the three decades between 1967 and 1997, the exhibition features 115 works by 62 artists. Comprised primarily of selections from a promised gift of Julie Schafler Dale, it also includes works from the museum’s collection and loans from private collections. Off the Wall: American Art to Wear is accompanied by a new publication of the same title, co-published by the Philadelphia Museum of Art and Yale University Press.

Timothy Rub, the George D. Widener Director and CEO, said: “This exhibition introduces to our visitors an exceptionally creative and adventurous aspect of American art which took the body as a vehicle for its expression. We are not only deeply grateful to Julie Schafler Dale for her extraordinary gifts and support of the museum but also see this as an opportunity to acknowledge the dynamic role she played in nurturing the growth and development of this movement.” 

Sharron Hedges, Midnight Sky (Julie’s Coat), 1977. Wool, crocheted. Promised gift of The Julie Schafler Dale Collection. Photography by Otto Stupakoff ©Julie Schafler Dale.

The champions of Art to Wear during the early years were a few forward-thinking museums, among them New York’s Museum of Contemporary Crafts (Museum of Art and Design), collectors, and galleries such as Sandra Sakata’s Obiko, founded in 1972 in San Francisco, and Julie Schafler Dale’s Julie: Artisans Gallery, which opened the following year on Madison Avenue in New York. For over 40 years, Dale’s gallery was a premier destination for presenting one-of-a-kind wearable works by American artists. Through her gallery installations and rotating window displays, she gave visibility to the Art to Wear movement. In 1986, she brought further recognition to the art form by publishing the seminal book Art to Wear—from which the title of this exhibition is taken—which provided in-depth profiles of artists alongside photographs by Brazilian fashion photographer Otta Stupakoff. Dale’s gallery closed in 2013. 

Off the Wall is arranged in nine sections; the titles of some are derived from popular music of the ‘60s and ‘70s to suggest the wide-ranging concerns of the artists. The introductory section, The Times They Are A Changin’ (Bob Dylan, 1964), contains works by Lenore Tawney, Dorian Zachai, Claire Zeisler, Ed Rossbach, and Debra Rapoport to illustrate how textile artists in the late ‘50s and ‘60s liberated tapestry weaving from the wall, adapting it to three-dimensional sculptural forms inspired by pre-Columbian weaving. In 1969, a group of five students at Pratt Institute studying painting, sculpture, industrial design, multimedia, and graphic design taught each other how to crochet, leading to remarkable outcomes. Janet Lipkin, Jean Cacicedo, Marika Contompasis, Sharron Hedges, and Dina Knapp all created clothing-related forms that they would describe as wearable sculpture, thus establishing a cornerstone of the Art to Wear movement. Included in this section is a wool crochet and knit Samurai Top, 1972, by Sharron Hedges, modeled by the young Julie Dale for the book Creative Crochet, authored by two of the artist’s friends, Nicki Hitz Edson and Arlene Stimmel. 

Janet Lipkin, African Mask, 1970. Wool, leather, wood. Lent by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Muriel Kallis Newman, 2003. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Photography by Otto Stupakoff ©Julie Schafler Dale.

The next section, Good Vibrations (Beach Boys, 1966), traces the migration of many of these young artists from the East Coast to the West Coast where they joined California’s vibrant artistic community and connected with Sandra Sakata’s Obiko. A pair of colorful denim hand-embroidered mini shorts by Anna VA Polesny embroidered while traveling conveys this new youthful spirit. Pacific Rim influences are evident in the Japanese kimono form as a blank canvas offering infinite possibilities for pattern and design.  Marika Contompasis’s machine-knitted kimono made of rectangular sections, Trout-Magnolia Kimono, 1977, and Janet Lipkin’s Mexico at Midday, a coat made in 1988 are exceptional examples. The section also looks at the art of performance, reflected in Ben Compton and Marian Clayden’s Nocturnal Moth, 1974,inspired by Federico Fellini’s film La Dolce Vita (1960). A range of counter-culture influences, evoking ceremony and spirituality, pervade this section. 

Oh, Mother Earth (Neil Young, 1990) is a nod to the publications The Whole Earth Catalog (1968) and Mother Earth News (1970) and looks to nature and environmental concerns while another section, This Land is Your Land (Woodie Guthrie, 1944) explores iconic American imagery from the Brooklyn Bridge to the American West. Examples in those two sections include Joan Ann Jablow’s Big Bird cape, 1977, made entirely of recycled bird feathers, and Joan Steiner’s Manhattan Collar, 1979, which reimagines New York’s skyline in miniature. 

Joan Steiner, Manhattan Collar, 1979. Silk, wool, cotton, lace, and buckram
Collection of Joanna S. Rose. Photography by Otto Stupakoff ©Julie Schafler Dale

In A Land Called Fantasy (Earth, Wind & Fire, 1977) explores fantasy and science fiction, two genres that offered young people an escape from the period’s cultural and political upheavals. Noteworthy here are works by Jean Cacicedo and Nina Huryn, both of whom riff on one of the most widely read English language books at the time, J.R.R. Tolkien’s trilogy Lord of the Rings (1965). Cacicedo responded with a portrait of Treebeard, 1973, a Tolkien character, while Huryn created her own fantasy world in Tree Outfit, with itsflowing pants, loose shirt and leather sleeveless jacket containing forest and folklore imagery, a work made especially for Julie: Artisans Gallery in 1976. Other artists turned to dreams, such as Susanna Lewis, who created Moth Cape, 1979, in response to a nightmare that she had of a giant moth enveloping her body.

Come Together (The Beatles, 1969) responds to the popular use of assemblage in art-making, especially the use of nontraditional materials. Red Ray, from the series, Seven Rays, by Kaisik Wong, is included as an example of a work that was commissioned by his close friend Salvador Dalí in 1974 for the grand opening of the Dalí Theatre Museum in Figueres, Spain. Nearby is Mario Rivoli’s Overdone Jacket, 1973, made of found objects such as pins, metal bottle caps, beads, and other items. 

A section called I Am Woman (Helen Reddy, 1971) underscores the ways in which artists invoked feminism directly and indirectly in Art to Wear. Janet Lipkin, for example, invested her works with symbols of freedom while searching for new directions in her life, as seen in Flamingo, 1982, and Transforming Woman, 1992. Other works like Combat Vest, 1985, by Sheila Perez, feature plastic toy soldiers as protective armor for the chest area, while Nicki Hitz Edson’s Medusa Mask, 1975, is a wild expression of fraught emotions surrounding the breakup of her marriage.

Linda J. Mendelson, In Kyo-Kawara, 2015, Wool machine knitted, plastic buttons. Promised gift of The Julie Schaffler Dale Collection.

Colour My World (Chicago, 1970) reflects the buoyant rainbow color spectrum that was ubiquitous during this era. Recently published works on color theory by Johannes Itten and Josef Albers provided a cornerstone of the new art education. For Linda Mendelson, color, typography, and text became inseparable. She adapted Albers’s ideas and linked color progression with lines from a poem titled Coat by William Butler Yeats from which she drew inspiration. Other artists such as Tim Harding created an effect similar to impressionist brush strokes by slashing and fraying dyed fabrics, as seen in his colorful coat Garden: Field of Flowers, 1991. 

The final section Everybody’s Talkin’ (Harry Nilsson, 1968) explores the use of text in Art to Wear. Jo-Ellen Trilling engages in visual word play using common prepositions on a jacket, while Jean Cacicedo channels her grief over her father’s death using words taken from the bible that celebrated his life in My Father’s House, 1994.

Sheila Perez Ghidini, Combat Vest, circa 1985.Molded plastic figures on quilted plain weave supplemental warp and weft patterning. Promised gift of The Julie Schafler Dale Collection.

Dilys E. Blum, The Jack M. and Annette Y. Friedland Senior Curator of Costume and Textiles, who organized the exhibition, said: “We are looking back at this period with a fresh lens through which to consider a uniquely American art form that continues to have a worldwide influence. With roots and connections in fine arts, fiber art, craft, performance and fashion, there are so many important artists to appreciate. For this reason I am delighted by the opportunity to cast a light on such extraordinary talents, including so many adventurous women who deserve much greater recognition.” 

Publication
Off the Wall: American Art to Wear is accompanied by a new publication of the same name co-published by the Philadelphia Museum of Art and Yale University Press, co-authored by exhibition curators Dilys E. Blum, The Jack M. and Annette Y. Friedland Senior Curator of Costume and Textiles at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and independent textile scholar and curator Mary Schoeser, with a contribution written by Julie Schafler Dale. The volume provides the social, political, and artistic context for Art to Wear. ISBN 9780876332917.

Curators

Dilys E. Blum, The Jack M. and Annette Y. Friedland Senior Curator of Costume and Textiles and Mary Schoeser, Independent Textile Historian and Curator

Support

This exhibition has been made possible by Julie Schafler Dale, PNC, The Coby Foundation, the Arlin and Neysa Adams Endowment Fund, Catherine and Laurence Altman, the Center for American Art at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and other generous donors.

Social Media

Twitter/Facebook/Instagram/Tumblr/YouTube: @philamuseum

The Philadelphia Museum of Art is Philadelphia’s art museum. We are a world-renowned collection. A landmark building. A place that welcomes everyone. We bring the arts to life, inspiring visitors—through scholarly study and creative play—to discover the spirit of imagination that lies in everyone. We connect people with the arts in rich and varied ways, making the experience of the Museum surprising, lively, and always memorable. We are committed to inviting visitors to see the world—and themselves—anew through the beauty and expressive power of the arts.

Thank you to the Philadelphia Museum of Art press room for the content of this post.

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Garden

Amie Potsic, Girl in the Garden: Paradise #1, Archival pigment print, 22” x 29”, 2019, ©Amie Potsic 2019

California wildfires and female empowerment fuel immersive exhibition on climate change and gender equality.

Exhibition extended to host

Climate Reality presentation and panel discussion on November 20th 

followed by One Tree Planted planting a tree for every person who attends.

Girl in the Garden: Danger in Paradise

A solo exhibition by Amie Potsic

Presented by: HOT•BED | James Oliver Gallery & Amie Potsic Art Advisory, LLC

Through November 20, 2019

– EVENTS –

CLOSING RECEPTION:
Saturday, November 16, 2:00 PM – 5:00 PM

TO RSVP:  https://www.amiepotsicartadvisory.com/events/2019/11/16/girl-in-the-garden-closing-reception

Amie Potsic, Girl in the Garden: Paradise #3, Archival pigment print, 22” x 33”, 2019, ©Amie Potsic 2019

CLIMATE REALITY PRESENTATION AND PANEL: Wednesday, November 20, 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM

“The Story of Art and Climate: Creating Change Through Art & Action”

Artist Panel Discussion featuring: Amie Potsic, Ana Vizcarra Rankin, Marguerita Hagan & Deirdre Murphy

24 Hours of Reality Presentations by: Al Morales and Alana Morales

Scientific Presentation by:Dr. Erik Cordes, Professor & Vice Chair, Ecology and Integrative Biology, Temple University and Alexis Weinnig, Graduate Student, Department of Biology, Temple University

To RSVP: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-story-of-art-and-climate-creating-change-through-art-and-action-tickets-79199348383

Vision (Detail 1)” Mixed Media on Panel, 36” x 72” Ó Amie Potsic 2019

 

Location:HOT•BED, 723 Chestnut St, 2nd Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19106, 267-918-7432

https://www.hotbedphilly.com/current

Gallery Hours:

Wednesday – Friday 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM

Saturdays 1:00 PM – 8:00 PM

Other times by appointment

Admission is free

Inquiries and information:

Amie Potsic, Artist

amie@amiepotsicartadvisory.com  |  www.amiepotsic.com  |  610-731-6312

Chelsea Markowitz, PR

chelsea@projectcmc.com | 856-404-4677

Anais Cooper-Hackman, Gallery

anais@hotbedphilly.com | jamesolivergallery@gmail.com | 267-918-7432

Presented in partnership with:

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Philadelphia, PA – Hot Bed and James Oliver Gallery, located at 723 Chestnut St, Second Floor, Philadelphia, PA presents Girl in the Garden: Danger in Paradise, a solo exhibition featuring renowned photographer and installation artist Amie Potsic.  With a focus on climate change, California wildfires, and gender equality, the exhibition includes a new large-scale silk installation, photographic prints, and mixed media works.  In addition to the exhibition, HOT•BED will host a Climate Reality Presentation and Artist Panel Discussion, after which One Tree Planted will plant a tree for every person that attends.  The exhibition is on view from September 14 through November 20.  There will be a Closing Reception with the artist on Saturday, November 16 from 2:00 – 5:00pm.  The Climate Reality Event will be on Wednesday, November 20 from 6:00 – 7:30 PM.  Both events are free and open to the public and rsvp is encouraged.  Gallery hours are Wednesday through Friday from 5:00 – 8:00 PM and Saturday from 1:00 – 8:00 PM or by appointment.

Amie Potsic, Paradise (installation detail), Archival pigment print on over 250 feet of silk, Dimensions variable, 2019, ©Amie Potsic 2019

Girl in the Garden: Danger in Paradise is a solo exhibition of new work by Amie Potsic addressing climate change through the complex viewpoints of girlhood, deforestation, and Magical Realism.  With site-specific installations, photographs, and mixed media works, Potsic collaborates with HOT•BED, a unique fine art and horticulture gallery, to produce an incarnate exploration of female identity, the forested lifeblood of our planet, and the fate of humankind. 

“In tandem with the incredible upsurge in Climate Change activism and brave examples set by youth leading the charge, this exhibition delves into the complexity and opportunities involved in the issues and provides paths for action,” says Amie Potsic.

After photographing her daughter in the lush forests of the northeastern United States, the artist traveled to Paradise, California and surrounding forests (located upwind from her extended family’s home) to photograph the complete devastation caused by the deadliest wildfire in the state’s history.  Personal experience underscoring the urgency of climate change, Potsic intertwines visions of girlhood in a magical environment with nature’s unprecedented destruction caused by wildfires. 

Unfortunately, the number and severity of wildfires in California continues to grow with recent fires burning out of control as recently as one week ago.  Harnessing the power of imagination and urgency, Potsic’s work is a call to action.  Visitors will find shared resources for taking environmental action in their own lives. 

The exhibition has been extended to host a discussion and presentation on the positive impact of the arts on the Climate Change movement and how creativity and storytelling can create change: “The Story of Art and Climate: Creating Change Through Art & Action.”As part of the 24 Hours of Reality, an international day of Climate presentations offered by Al Gore’s Climate Reality Project, HOT•BED will host an artist panel discussion and climate presentations with scientific experts.  One Tree Planted has committed to planting one tree for every attendee at this presentation.

The artist panel will include Amie Potsic, Ana Vizcarra Rankin, Marguerita Hagan, and Deirdre Murphy.  Each artist’s work looks at climate change from a unique perspective:  Potsic deals with deforestation and wildfires, Rankin addresses human migration and humanity’s impact on the planet, Hagan explores ocean life and interrelated ecosystems, while Murphy integrates scientific experimentation and bird migration

Climate Reality Presenters, Al Morales and his 17-year-old daughter Alana Morales, are presenters trained by Al Gore’s Climate Reality Project.  They will provide facts and opportunities highlighting the impact of climate change on the planet and humanity.

Dr. Erik Cordes, Professor & Vice Chair of Ecology and Integrative Biology at Temple University and Alexis Weinnig, a graduate student in the Department of Biology at Temple University will share information on their research, which focuses on understanding the areas of the deep sea that support the highest biomass communities: deep-water coral reefs, natural hydrocarbon seeps, and hydrothermal vents. 

On November 20–21, the world is coming together to talk about the climate crisis with:

24 Hours of Reality: Truth in Action: https://www.24hoursofreality.org/

One Tree Planted has committed to planting one tree for everyone that attends one of the international presentations:  https://onetreeplanted.org/

Amie Potsic, MFA is an accomplished photographer and installation artist living in the Philadelphia area whose work addresses cultural, personal, and natural phenomena through the lens of climate change and social responsibility.  Potsic has exhibited her work internationally at the Art Park in Rhodes, Greece; Museo de Arte Moderno de Bogotá, Colombia; Medfoundart di Cagliari, Italy; the Royal College of London; the Museum of New Art in Detroit; The Woodmere Art Museum, The National Constitution Center Museum, The Painted Bride and James Oliver Gallery in Philadelphia; Mission 17 in San Francisco; and 626 Gallery in Los Angeles.  Her work has been published in The San Francisco ChronicleArt MattersThe Photo Review, and The Philadelphia Inquirer.  Potsic received her MFA in Photography from the San Francisco Art Institute and BA’s in Photojournalism and English Literature from Indiana University.  She has held faculty appointments at the University of California at BerkeleyOhlone College, and the San Francisco Art Institute and has been a guest lecturer at The University of the Arts, Ursinus College, and The International Center of Photography. 

Potsic is currently the CEO and Principal of Amie Potsic Art Advisory, LLC providing visionary and advisory support to artists, collectors, businesses, and institutions with expertise in Legacy Planning and Fine Art Appraisals.  She is also Chair of the Art in City Hall Artistic Advisory Board to the Office of Arts and Culture of the City of Philadelphia.

Bridging James Oliver’s (James Oliver Gallery) eye for contemporary art and Bryan Hoffman’s (Hoffman Design Group) passion for horticulture design, HOT•BED is an ultra-collaborative gallery and event space that explores the relationship between our intrinsic connection to nature (biophilia) and art in new and exciting ways. 

HOT•BED andJames Oliver Gallery, located at 723 Chestnut St, Second Floor, Philadelphia, PA present Girl in the Garden:  Danger in Paradise, a solo exhibition featuring renowned photographer and installation artist Amie Potsic with a focus on climate change and gender identity.  The exhibition runs from September 14 through November 20.  The exhibition will host a Closing Reception on Saturday, November 16 from 2:00 – 5:00 PM and a Climate Reality Event on Wednesday, November 20 from 6:00 – 7:30 PM.

For more information, please contact Amie Potsic at amie@amiepotsicartadvisory.com or 610-731-6312 or Chelsea Markowitz at chelsea@projectcmc.com or 856-404-4677.

Thank you to Amie Potsic for the content of this post.

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Homelessness

Homelessness, Carolyn Harper. MUSE Gallery
Lemuel, art quilt, 5.5′ x 5′, Carolyn Harper, MUSE Gallery

Look Me In The Eye: Portraits of Homelessness

Carolyn Harper, MUSE Gallery

I am a Philadelphian and an artist with an upcoming exhibition in Old City Philadelphia at MUSE Gallery,Look Me In The Eye: Portraits of Homelessness” is a show of large art quilts and oversized hand embroidered drawings that use personal stories of homeless individuals, Philadelphians, to inspire empowerment and  create visibility of those who have been left behind by our society.

My work combines art and action to produce meaningful social impact. The implementation of portraiture within quilting serves to empower the persons depicted, enabling them to see themselves through their own stories rather than qualifiers such as “jobless” or “homeless”. Through conversations and active listening, I learn about the individual stories of these overlooked and ignored community members. The large scale work forces the audience to confront images of people they would rather not see, and bear witness to the stories behind them. 

Carolyn Harper

This work is extremely relevant to the times we live in, and I am grateful to The Puffin Foundation for providing me with a grant in support of my work. The Artist Reception will take place at MUSE Gallery, 52 N. 2nd Street, Old City Philadelphia, on Friday, November 1st from 5 – 8 pm. The exhibition runs through the end of November; Gallery hours are Wednesday – Sunday from 12-5.

For more information and images please visit about Carolyn Harper: www.carolynharperart.com

About Muse Gallery:

Mission: Established late in 1977, the Muse Gallery is an artists’ cooperative dedicated to encourage and promote its members’ artistic expression through abstract, conceptual and representational forms. Reflecting an aesthetic that awakens awareness, the Muse Gallery affirms the shared experience of art between the artist and the community.  Please see the membership page to view a detailed history of Muse.
To join the Gallery: Muse Gallery is always interested in potential new members. We are often fully staffed and maintain a waiting list. Please visit our membership page.

Thank you to Carolyn Harper for the content of this post.

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Armor

Enamored Armor, Rowan University Art Gallery

ENAMORED ARMOR
The Potency of the Female Figure

GLASSBORO, NJ – Rowan University Art Gallery welcomes guest curator Amie Potsic with this exhibition. Three women artists reframe the cultural construct of feminine as empowering in Enamored Armor. The opening reception and artist talk is on Thursday, November 29 from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. The exhibit is on display from November 29, 2018 – January 12, 2019.

Featuring work by Marjan Moghaddam, Mari Ogihara, and Tiantian Li, Enamored Armor includes references inspired by art history, cultural specificity, and contemporary society. The classical figure serves as a basis, as the artists investigate the multiplicity of ways in which women choose to present and redefine themselves in pursuit of potency and self-discovery. Through video, painting, sculpture, and Augmented Reality, their work spans a historical spectrum of millennia with a finger on the pulse of current artistic practice, the women’s empowerment movement, and emerging technologies.

Marjan Moghaddam is an award-winning and pioneering digital artist and animator who works primarily with 3d computer graphics, motion capture, and digital media for animation, post-internet art. Her work has been exhibited internationally, in addition to curated shows at the Armory Show in NYC and Art Basel Miami. In her digital female bodies, Marjan utilizes aesthetic styles as part of a figural vocabulary that explores the evolving nature of humanity. The figures represent the deconstruction of the organic, and its fracturing and fragmentation as it migrates from the physical to the digital.

Mari Ogihara’s work ranges from female figures to colorful biomorphic sculptures. She connects her understanding of how a samurai got ready for battle with the way women throughout history have prepared their physical appearance for sexual intimacy. Ogihara has held international residencies in France, Japan, Brazil, and Mexico in addition to multiple residencies in the United States.

Tiantian Li’s work has been shown in numerous Philadelphia galleries in addition to major art museums in China. In her watercolors she explores ideation of female intimacy and emotions expressed through portraits of her lingerie superposition with portraits of historical characters from the renaissance period, which represents a time of enlightenment and romantic expression. She is encouraging women to take a positive perspective on their bodies and female representation while giving themselves the attention, humor, and respect they deserve.

The Rowan University Art Gallery is located at 301 High Street West. Free 2-hour public parking is available in the Mick Drive Parking Garage across the street from the gallery. Admission to the gallery, lecture, and reception is free and open to the public. Regular gallery hours are Monday – Wednesday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Thursday – Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Directions can be found on the gallery website. For more information, call 856-256-4521 or visit www.rowan.edu/artgallery.

Support for programming at Rowan University Art Galleries is also made possible by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts.

Baisser in Mary Boone, in Glassish & Waxish Glitch from marjan moghaddam on Vimeo.

Thank you to Mary Salvante for the content of this post.

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Terra

HEATHER UJIIE

HEATHER UJIIE: TERRA INCOGNITA
Textile artist explores our relationship to the natural world

GLASSBORO, NJ – Heather Ujiie’s exhibition, Terra Incognita, opens the 2018-2019 season at Rowan University Art Gallery with a reception on Thursday, September 13 from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. The artist’s work blend the disciplines of textiles, fashion design and visual art to create an ethereal, imaginary, and mythological world. The exhibit runs September 4 – November 17, 2018.

In her work, Ujiie builds upon the imagery found in Hieronymus Bosch’s painting, The Garden of Earthly Delights, and infuses it with her own vision inspired by botanical studies, living networks, sexual identities, and commonalities between living creatures. Much of what the artist is currently creating has evolved out of re-contextualizing historic printed cloth, and illuminated manuscript paintings from the Moghul Empire, to contemporary symbols of the feminine in global cultures.

Three mythological deities and animal hybrid forms – The Goddess, The Demon, and the Warrior – dominate the world created by the artist. Each of the textile installations and sculptural figures reveals the power of the female voice which can be at once loving and nurturing, while simultaneously conjuring mythologies around the femme fatale. Digitally-printed murals evoke narratives which question the human relationship to the fragile natural world, and the destruction of ecological systems, in our evolving planet.

The Coby Foundation, and The Joseph Roberts Foundation have provided support for this project. Additional support is also made possible by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts.

Heather Ujii grew up in NYC’s Greenwich Village, part of a family of artist educators, and believes her creativity comes from a lively bohemian childhood. Her installations have been exhibited at the State Museum of Pennsylvania, Delaware Art Museum, Hunterdon Museum of Art, Racine Art Museum, Delaware Center for Contemporary Art, Philadelphia International Airport, and the prestigious Wind Challenge Award Exhibition at the Samuel S. Fleisher Art Memorial Museum.

As a designer, she has more than 15 years of experience creating printed textiles for the high-end home furnishing and apparel markets. Her commercial designs have been used in such projects as decorating The White House private residence for President and Mrs. George W. Bush. Ujiie holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Visual Art from the State University of New York/New Paltz; an Art-Education K-12 degree from Brooklyn College; and an Associate’s Degree in Textile Surface Design from The Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. She is on the faculty of Moore College of Art & Design and has design experience for dance, theatre, and textiles.

The gallery is located at 301 High Street West. Free 2-hour public parking is available in the Mick Drive Parking Garage across the street from the gallery. Admission to the gallery, lecture, and reception is free and open to the public. Regular gallery hours are Monday – Wednesday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Thursday – Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Directions can be found on the gallery website. For more information, call 856-256-4521 or visit www.rowan.edu/artgallery.

Thank you to Mary Salvante for the content of this post.

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